As K-pop rocks, ‘fire meat’ sizzles in Ampang

Three decades ago, I knew only two things about the Koreans and it involved much kicking.

kongster

 They gave the world, taekwondo, which is their national sport, and they were superb in football, and still are.

    With much nostalgic pride, Malaysians remember those long-gone glorious days of our nation battling South Korea for Asian football supremacy.

   Today, South Korea, a nation of 49 million people, is proving to be good in many more things.

   Just think Samsung, LG, Kia, Hyundai, and K-pop, you should have a good idea.

   Korean cars run on Malaysian roads, Korean flat-screen TVs invade our homes and Korean smart phones have the ears of Malaysians.

  The other day when I came home, my elder daughter was watching a Korean drama on her PC, while my younger daughter was engrossed with a Korean musical on  TV.

   As my children looked up at me and waved a hand before returning to their indulgences, I muttered ann-yeong-ha-seyo (hello in Korean).

  Just when I thought only teenagers would be held in thrall by this new trend, a 61-year-old colleague admitted he had stopped playing his favourite mahjong game to have time to watch Korean martial art dramas.

   It doesn’t matter that he knows not a single word of Hangul as English or Bahasa Malaysia subtitles will do. It’s the same too for the  women who laugh and sob over Korean soaps.

   If you love all things Korean, you should visit the Korean Village in Ampang which has BBQ restaurants offering the famed bulgogi, which means “fire meat”, and shops selling candies, biscuits and beauty products.

    South Korea has become a popular tourist destination for Malaysians after the  beautiful scenery from dramas like Winter Sonata caught their imagination.   Last year, about 90,000 Malaysians went to South Korea for holidays, which was twice the number compared with 10 years ago.

    But as the world embraces the hallyu which means the Korean Wave that  spreads South Korean culture, the country is  dogged by an issue that leaves a bad taste in the mouth of many people.

  Animal lovers  who grew up with Lassie, Rin Tin Tin or Scooby-Doo have howled in protest over the years against the Koreans for eating cats and dogs.

   But there are signs that more and more Koreans have lost their appetite for these pets.

    Meanwhile, K-pop is ready to rock louder, in Asia at least, than those from Elvis Presley’s land and Samsung is set to bite into Apple in the world’s biggest smart phone market.

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